The Trap

The basement was cool and dimly lit
with a squeaky fan that created a light breeze through the room.
In the corner, a spider spun his web
and waited.
I watched the spider
as he skillfully finished
laying a beautiful trap.
I watched as you came over and climbed
on the bed next to me.
You moved closer and your hand
reached out to my body.

There was a little ladybug flying past the bed,
landing just out of reach
on the windowsill.
I watched the spider move in his web
closer to the windowsill
as you rolled on top of me.

The ladybug seemed unhurried,
unafraid of something she didn't understand.
I wanted to call out,
tell her to run before it was too late,
before the spider lured her into a trap
she would never break free from.
But I was quiet
as waves of pain washed over me.

The spider must have done something
I couldn't see
because the ladybug lifted up in flight again
but this time headed directly
to the corner,
to the spider,
to his web.
Eyes closed, I silently screamed NO,
and when I looked up again,
I saw the ladybug struggling to
get out of the web
as the spider advanced.

A single tear rolled down my cheek
as I turned my head away from the corner,
the spider,
his web,
the ladybug,
her struggle.
I couldn't bear to watch.

Eyes closed again, I felt you get off
and knew
it was over...
too late to save myself.
I opened my eyes one last time
and saw the spider
on the ladybug
and knew
it was over...
too late to save the ladybug.

I stared at the ceiling and
thought about the ladybug
flying the other way,
the spider never catching her,
and how different everything would have been
if the spider wasn't
lying
in wait for his prey,
just like you were
lying
in wait for me.